Military sex abuse victims seek VA helpWASHINGTON (AP) — More than 85,000 veterans were treated last year for injuries or illness stemming from sexual abuse in the military, and 4,000 sought disability benefits, underscoring the staggering long-term impact of a crisis that has roiled the Pentagon and been condemned by President Barack Obama as “”shameful and disgraceful.” A Department of Veterans Affairs accounting released in response to inquiries from The Associated Press shows a...

AP CEO calls records seizure unconstitutional WASHINGTON (AP) — The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government’s secret seizure of two months of reporters’ phone records “unconstitutional” and said the news cooperative had not ruled out legal action against the Justice Department. Gary Pruitt, in his first television interviews since it was revealed the Justice Department subpoenaed phone records of AP reporters and editors, said the move...

Shoffner resigns amid charges she took cashLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' state treasurer resigned Tuesday after being accused of taking at least $36,000 in cash — sometimes stashed in a pie box — from a broker who later came to manage a large share of the state's $3.3 billion investment portfolio. Democrat Martha Shoffner held the office since 2007 and was re-elected in 2010. She was barred by term limits from seeking re-election next year. "I am proud to have been elected by and to hav...

Gov. Beebe says Arkansas treasurer should resign LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Gov. Mike Beebe says Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner ought to resign after she allegedly took cash from a broker who managed state funds. Beebe, a Democrat, told reporters Monday that Shoffner should step down immediately. But Shoffner, also a Democrat, said she doesn't intend to resign. Federal prosecutors say Shoffner accepted $12,000 a year from a broker who would sometimes deliver cash in a pie box - with a pie....

Officials say Shoffner should resignLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A number of officials said Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner should resign after she allegedly took cash from a broker who managed state funds. Governor Mike Beebe, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor and Arkansas GOP Chairman Doyle Webb were among those who said Monday that Shoffner, a Democrat, ought to resign immediately. Shoffner, however, says she doesn't intend to step down. Federal prose...

State treasurer accused of taking cash from broker LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' state treasurer was accused Monday of taking at least $36,000 in cash — sometimes stashed in a pie box — from a broker who later came to manage a large share of the state's $3.3 billion investment portfolio. Democrat Martha Shoffner, who made her initial court appearance Monday, said she had no plans to resign despite members of her own party joining Republican calls for her to step down. She was released on her ow...

Department enables new strategiesOver the past two years, Russellville’s Code Enforcement department has implemented several new strategies to help both residents and the city itself. One significant recent development is providing a process for owners of dilapidated structures to enter into an agreement with the city to rehabilitate them. Code Enforcement supervisor Bruce Moore said the program was modeled after North Little Rock’s process for handling dilapidated structures...

State treasurer arrested for extortion by FBI LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner has been arrested for extortion by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being held in Pulaski County Jail. FBI spokeswoman Kimberly Brunell said Shoffner was arrested Saturday at her home in Newport and is scheduled for a federal court hearing Monday. Brunell said Shoffner was arrested on charges of “extortion under color of official right.” Brunell said she would have more details Mo...

Council to consider abandoning portions of some right of waysA public hearing has been set concerning a proposal for the city to abandon a portion of 80 right of ways. Aldermen voted at their meeting Thursday to conduct the hearing during the City Council’s June 27 meeting. After the hearing, aldermen will be set to consider an ordinance that would abandon a portion of right of ways within the city that are in excess of 60 feet. Alderman Martin Irwin sponsored the ordinance, which he previously told The...

Hagel orders review of sex-abuse prevention WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Friday ordered the military to recertify all 25,000 people involved in programs designed to prevent and respond to sexual assault, an acknowledgement that assaults have escalated beyond the Pentagon’s control. He said this step, which also applies to the military’s approximately 19,000 recruiters and must be completed by July 1, is one among many that will be taken to fix the problem of sexual...

US slams Russian anti-ship missiles going to Syria WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration denounced Russia on Friday for providing Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime with anti-ship missiles, saying the weapons would only worsen a war that Washington and Moscow have been promising to work together on stopping. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, criticized what he called an “unfortunate decision that will embolden the regime and prolong the suffering.” He spoke a...

Treasury officials told of IRS probe in June 2012 WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior Treasury officials were made aware in June 2012 that investigators were looking into complaints from tea party groups that they were being harassed by the Internal Revenue Service, a Treasury inspector general said Friday, disclosing that Obama administration officials knew there was a probe during the heat of the presidential campaign. J. Russell George, the Treasury inspector general for tax administration, testified...

Referendum petition closer to voteA referendum petition regarding a zoning ordinance that would allow construction of a Walmart Neighborhood Market is one step closer to appearing on a ballot. Russellville City Clerk Kathy Collins confirmed Thursday she verified 917 of the petition’s signatures; 878 signatures were required. The petition called for a special election on Aug. 13 to allow voters to decide whether to keep or overturn an ordinance rezoning property located at Sout...

Justice Dept. faulted over terrorist identities WASHINGTON (AP) — The government allowed “a small but significant number” of terrorists into America’s witness protection program and then failed to provide the names of some of them for a watch list that’s used to keep dangerous people off airline flights, the Justice Department’s inspector general says. As a result of the department’s failure to share information with the Terrorist Screening Center, some in the witness protection program who...

Obama vows sustained effort on military sex abuse WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama said Thursday the nation’s military leaders told him they are “ashamed” of their failure to end sexual abuse in the armed services. Obama pledged to “leave no stone unturned” in the effort to halt the abuse, which he said undermines the trust the military needs to be effective. Obama also said he has asked Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey to lead a process ...

US, Turkey project united front on Syria WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan projected a united front Thursday on Syria, keeping stark differences about how much the U.S. should intervene behind closed doors as they looked to Russia and the global community to close ranks behind efforts to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad. Under a pair of umbrellas outside a drizzly White House, the two leaders offered no hints about new actions ...

Authorities arrest man in Idaho in terrorism case BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Federal authorities in Idaho said Thursday they have arrested an Uzbekistan national accused of conspiring with a designated terrorist organization in his home country and helping scheme to use a weapon of mass destruction. The U.S. attorney’s office said Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, was arrested at an apartment complex in south Boise on Thursday morning after a grand jury issued a three-count indictment as part of an investigat...

Obama picks budget official to run troubled IRS WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama picked a senior White House budget official to become the acting head of the Internal Revenue Service on Thursday, the same day another top official announced plans to leave the agency amid the controversy over agents targeting tea party groups. Obama named longtime civil servant Daniel Werfel as the acting IRS commissioner. Werfel, 42, currently serves as controller of the Office of Management and Budg...

Obama calls on Congress to fund embassy security WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Thursday tried to turn the tables on Republicans who have criticized his administration’s response to last year’s deadly attack in Benghazi, Libya, calling on lawmakers to approve his request to increase funding for diplomatic security. Obama’s call was the second step in as many days designed to combat GOP charges that his administration misled Americas about the circumstances of the attack, playing...